RAINALREADYFLOATING 1.22 INCHESAHEADOFAVERAGEFORTHEMONTH

Rain fell again Tuesday and today and will probably keep falling off and on for the rest of the week, weather service officials said today.

In the first seven days of July, 5.67 inches of rain have fallen on the Lawrence area, already 1.22 inches above the historical average for the month. No day has escaped a precipitation reading.

Spotty showers added 0.39 of an inch Tuesday.

Kansas University Weather Service forecaster Adam Ward said a high pressure zone in the Gulf of Mexico was pushing moisture into the Midwest. The high pressure also has held a front stationary just west of Lawrence, he said.

Saturated soil and continued chances of thundershowers placed Douglas County in a flash flood warning at least until early afternoon, the National Weather Service in Topeka reported.

At 8:30 a.m., the service said that most of the heavy rain had moved north of Kansas City, Kan., and east of Lawrence. However, a second front was lying west of Topeka.

Despite continued rain, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water control division reported that the Kansas River depth dropped almost 3 feet since Tuesday morning, to 12.9 feet at the nearest measuring point in Lecompton. The flood stage there is 17 feet.

Victor Counts, corps project manager at Clinton Lake, said the Wakarusa River was safely below flood stages as well.

The corps reported Clinton Lake elevation at 877.55 feet above mean sea level. The normal pool is 875.5 feet. Perry Lake had an elevation of 903.82 feet. Its normal pool is 891.5 feet. Some park roads are under water there, park officials said.

Property owners near Lone Star Lake reported that so far, the lake appeared full but not flooded. The lake's caretaker could not be reached for comment.

City and county street officials this morning reported no closed roads due to flooding.